FREE ESSAY ON THE Y2K PROBLEM

THE Y2K PROBLEM

Y2K: Nearing Disaster or Minor Computer Flaw?
By Pete Conti 
Imagine that, as you do annually, you are counting the minutes until the New Year
arrives. You are watching Dick Clark announce that the countdown will begin soon, and you
feel anxious. Finally, as you hear the offbeat 5-4-3-2-1-0, and let out a sigh of relief,
something goes wrong. At precisely 12:00 A.M. on January 1 of the year 2000, computers
across the nation crash, leaving the country in panic. Stores are looted, riots break
out, 911 is dysfunctional, banks lose money, the stock market crashes, planes drop from
the sky, and we are all left in the bitter darkness. Horror stories such as these are
common among news broadcasts and the Internet, but many are wondering how the "Y2K"
problem will, if at all, affect their lives. Some professionals say that the Y2K problem
may only cause glitches in older, obsolete computers and mainframes, while others are
warning the public, and urging proper preparedness for this imminent disaster. Although
both sides of this conflict have very arguable positions, the world is not taking the Y2K
problem seriously enough.
Before a valid position can be taken, one must first fully understand what the Y2K
problem is, and how it might affect computers. Computer coding has always been
constructed of zeros and ones, and the finished product is often called the computer
"language." Over the last thirty years, namely the early eighties, computer coding was
much different than it is today. During this time, a string of zeros usually meant the
end of a particular program. For these computers, which are very few, when the year 2000
arrives, the Central Processing Unit, or CPU, will determine that the zeros in the year
2000's date as the end of the software, and the computer will crash. This only makes up a
very small percentage of the computers that will be affected by the Y2K problem, the
others being the more modern computers that still are not compliant with the year 2000's
date. These computers, unlike the earlier, primitive ones, would not recognize the year
2000 as the date in which the software stops functioning, but instead as the year 1900.
This is due to the fact that many date systems are set up using only two numbers, so for
example, 01 would be read as 1901, because these computers are still set in the 20th
century. Some argue that, because the computer would not crash, and simply believe the
date was 1900, the Y2K problem is not a major dilemma; the vast majority of computers
would still be fully functional, so fixing the problem doesn't require so much urgency.
The problem could be fixed after the year 2000, so panic is unnecessary. This is
obviously not the case, when you think about all of the computers that run on dates.
Almost all of the systems that run schedule-keeping programs will be adversely affected
if this problem is not fixed. What about the telephone company? What would happen if you
were on the telephone at the date change? What about Travel agencies and package delivery
systems? These questions remain unanswered, and will stay that way until the year 2000
arrives. 
The Y2K problem is very serious, but it is causing many more problems than simply
computers. There are radicals supporting every viewpoint. Some people who are worried
about the Y2K problem are withdrawing all of their money from banks, and stockpiling
their houses with months worth of food, while others simply fail to acknowledge the Y2K
problem. Others are actually trying to get rich off perhaps the biggest problem in
computers' short history. There are numerous fake, overpriced, and overrated Y2K
"survival kits" on sale for ridiculous prices. Imagine what would happen if Y2K did cause
major problems, what would the radicals do then? 
While it is obvious that many are over-preparing for this potential upcoming problem, the
ones that are paying no attention to it may be in danger. NBC news stated that
withdrawing money from banks is actually a bad idea, as many banks have already converted
to Y2K compliant software, but having necessary items such as a radio, batteries, a
flashlight, and canned food would definitely be a good preparation idea.
Even after clear warnings of the dangers of the Y2K problem, many software companies and
computer manufacturers are simply not addressing it. Lou Marcoccio, year 2000 research
director of Gartner Group's Dataquest unit, recently said that 81 percent of all
commercially packaged software now sold, for use in everything from hand-held computers
to large mainframes, is not Y2K compliant. This means that up to 81 percent of all the
computers will crash, or have major glitches. This is completely unacceptable. Even with
Y2K approaching quickly, the government is allowing 81 percent of software sold to be
unprepared for the Y2K bug. The problem was presented as early as the beginning of the
nineties, and nearing the end of the first quarter of 1999, the majority of software will
not recognize the beginning of the new century. 
Since the invention of computers, there have been problems. This will never be avoided,
but the problems can be fixed. The year 2000 bug can be fixed, but it is unlikely that it
will be avoided, as ample time is not available. The government is partially to blame
here; they initially ignored the problem, and are now trying to frantically fix it. But
saying that the government is to take the full blame is ignorant, as the problem was
created as a result of many different factors. It is obvious that this problem has been
left alone too long, and now, in a world of panic and fear, we are trying to get rid of
it, with less than a year to complete the process. This is an unreasonable goal. Never
has a problem of this destructive capability been ignored as it has in the case of the
Y2K problem, and saying all computers will be sound through the next millenium is not
true. We reside in a nation run by computers, and computers are run by a code. This
flawed code, which may actually cause the computer to crash, has been overlooked for
nearly a decade, and the price we may have to pay will be the wrath of Y2K. This is not
saying that civilization may come to an end, or that humans will be forced back into the
forest for years to come, but what it does state, is that Y2K is coming, and the world
may never be the same.